In Western culture, few taboos remain as strong as those related to sex. Many people form a basis for morality on the concept of disgust, but what legal weight should disgust hold? Is a general perception of unpalatability a valid reason for prohibition of something? Incest, polygamy, and obscenity are all examples of legal prohibitions based on the concept of moral disgust; however, validity of a prohibition should be judged not on the social acceptability of the act in question, but on whether the act inflicts harm on a party involved. (To be clear, it is assumed that harm is inflicted if any participant is unable or unwilling to give consent, eg, cases of sexual abuse or pedophilia.) Individual autonomy is highly regarded in United States law, and many criminal laws protect that autonomy. For example, rape is considered a crime because it is a violation of one’s sexual autonomy. In other words, rape takes away the ability of the victim to make a decision regarding with whom they have sex. In the same way, laws that prohibit certain sexual relationships also violate the sexual autonomy of the individual, as they are a way for some people to decide what kinds of sexual relationships other people may have.
